Jaw-Dropping Nature Snaps

Putting 'that amazing sunset picture' you took back in June to absolute shame, the National Geographic Photo Contest displays snaps from around the world that work hard to make your jaw fall to the floor.

A series of spectacular photos, submitted by users, showcase natural disasters, extreme weather, perfectly captured wildlife and other impressive scenes that will compete for a grand prize of £4,700 and a spot in the National Geographic mag.

The highlights include Sean Heavey's depiction of a supercell thunderstorm blasting across a prairie in Montana at dusk. The moment captured is all the more extraordinary because supercell storms are not only incredibly dangerous — a supercell caused the flash flooding, giant hailstones and £123m worth of damage that ravaged Melbourne in March this year — they are also relatively rare.

Also of note: Chris Button's apocalyptic pic of the Sydney Harbour Bridge during a heavy dust storm and Jesus Oranday's admirable feat of taking a non-clichéd photo of the pyramids in Egypt.